The Ohio University, a public research institution in Athens, Ohio, prides itself on being the first University chartered by an Act of Congress in the United States when it was established in 1804. But the emergence of Honors Tutorial College (HTC) at the institute is another feather in the cap of one of the oldest public institutions in the country. From its Oxford-Cambridge model to degree-granting programmes, Dean of HTC, Dr. Donal C. Skinner, delves into what the college has to offer to international students in an interview with the Free Press Journal:
1. Why is Ohio University a significant place of learning, especially for international students?
Ohio University was founded in 1804 and is among the oldest institutions in the US. Since it is in Athens, the area is primarily rural. We are also close to Ohio’s capital Columbus which in itself is significant for being an upcoming international hub in microchip development, with tech company Intel starting a plant here which will have a knock-on effect on the University as well. The University’s interests lie in Engineering, Medicine, Journalism, etc. with the ambition of being a globally facing university for a long time. In HTC alone there’s a growing student population, with 9 of them being international students. We also have an active cultural programme, with an Indian student joining our arts programme just recently. While we have students from India, China, Vietnam, Iran, Venezuela, etc, the University has 195 international undergraduates, 20 being from India which is roughly 10%, a number that’s ever-growing and has helped in internationalising our courses.
2. Tell us more about the HTC model
So as for HTC, we follow the Cambridge, Oxford tutorial model, which has the features of the traditional British constituent college tutorial system of undergraduate education. The programme includes a one-on-one session with the tutorial being shaped by the student and instructor. Instead of lectures, there is conversational instruction. HTC students must enroll in at least one tutorial course each semester. One example would be when last semester a tutorial was done for a student who wanted to look into the impact of environmental contaminants on fetal development. That course doesn’t exist at Ohio University but it is a course specifically set up for students part of the tutorial college. Apart from participating in the same every semester, in the fourth and final year of their course students are required to exclusively do research or creative projects depending on the particular programme. We have thirty different programmes, including arts, physics, music, biology, etc and these are degree-granting programmes that are different from honours in the rest of the US where a degree is not offered for the same. Plus, we also waive general education requirements and prerequisites for graduation and encourage students to do certificate courses and minor studies. We give students freedom in what they want to learn from their courses which from my academic experience in the US, Asia, etc is unique.
Donal Skinner, Dean, HTC
3. How can incoming students avail scholarships or funding for their courses at HTC?
Students who join HTC receive a ‘premier award’, which is full in-state tuition. In addition to that foreign students or students who reside out of Ohio receive a ‘trustee's award’ which is $7,000 towards the cost of not being an in-state student. There are also other scholarships, and funding opportunities, as we allocate 800 dollars of funding every year to students as well and the good news is that for such a benefit they can apply for the same from anywhere. We also started an undergraduate apprenticeship research programme, which helps students staying during the summer since it offers a stipend of $3,000 and assists students as they work in research labs. We will be looking at more ways to bring numerous students into the fold. Overall these policies help us bring down the cost of education to a huge extent for students.
4. How can HTC make Indian students job-ready in the US?
I am glad to inform you that 89% and 84% of our students graduate within 5 and 4 years, respectively. This is significantly higher compared to many other colleges in Ohio and would have been the highest percentage if we were a self-contained University. The students who have applied for law schools, pre-medicine professions have gotten in easily. Our alumni members have also been applying their skills in their home countries with one example being an alum who served as the director of one of the largest banks in Myanmar. At the end of the tutorial, the instructors also write a personalised letter for students’ academic records, a practice we maintain while writing LORs as well. Our students have also been able to adapt to international standards, with many of them pursuing post-graduation from Oxford, Trinity, etc.
5. What are some of the recommendations students should keep in mind while applying to HTC?
In the process to get accepted at HTC, I would recommend students reach out to the college as we have a small number of students coming to HTC and the Director of studies, who is basically an advisor of students, will be able to help them out easily. Another thing we expect from a student is that they should be someone who loves to engage with others while showing their interest in things offered by HTC. We also have interviews with students who meet the criteria for our programmes during which we also assess their ability to hold a convo as that is also important to the college. They should be interested in our programmes and seek more information. Suppose a student says she or he is interested in writing, we have five programmes that cater to the same so they need to have a unique approach to it. Extra-curricular activities are also important among students as we look at all aspects, not just anything in particular. HTC would also like to know what about the programme fascinates you so it can help you in every step of its journey.
For more information about HTC, students can check out https://www.ohio.edu/honors/tutorial-college.
